Teaching Tip #37

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #37

Another book that really impacted my teaching last year was Carmine Gallo’s Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the Worlds’ Top Minds.

Tip #3 - have a conversation.

This works when you drop your guard a bit with the students.  Show your mastery.  Frame it around a story.  Then have a conversation with the students.

And please avoid that all-knowing, pompous “teacher voice.”

When I think back to some of the times when I learned the most in high school, I think of the moments in class when I was able to have a conversation with my teacher, not as a teacher with a student but as two co-learners discussing something.

I will never forget Mr. Matzke, who made me fall in love with American history in 10th grade.  Yet I don’t recall much about his lectures.  But what I do recall is a time when there were just a few of us in class and he got off topic and began to tell us about his graduation from MSU.  He was standing there next to his good friend as they were about to get their diplomas and become social studies teachers.  His friend looked at Mr. Matzke and said, “I hate history.”

I will never forget that conversation and what it implied to me - make sure you do what you love with your life.

I’m proud to say I’m living proof of that!